Escaping the Academy
by Gasp- Dead Deer
Summary: Cross Academy is attacked, and Kaien is forced to send his precious children with his best friend. This is their story.
1. Chapter 1

Cross Academy is attacked, and Kaien is forced to send his precious children with his best friend. This is their story, running all across Japan.

I'm back on , finally! School's over for me, and I've had time to whip this together. I'm sorry if the characters seem a bit OOC, but I tried to get them as best as I could without making them too light and fluffy. Light and fluffy just doesn't work for Vampire Knight.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight. I never did and I never will, unfortunatly.

Enjoy!

Xx

The first thing Yagari heard as he walked into the building were squeals. His one blue eye closed and he let out a sigh. He was 29, for Christs sake, and girls ranging from 15 to 18 were asking him if he was single! Hating the fact that he had to teach at all, he wished his day to be over, and it hadn't even started yet.

He walked into his first class and told the students to get in their seats. He began to teach them their first lesson, mathematics, when, once again, a girl asked if he was single. He put his chalk down, and turned around. He leaned against the desk, and glared at everyone. "Let's get this settled once and for all. I am 29, therefore am to old for you girls. Not only that, but any relationships I'd have with you girls would ultimately get me fired. I may not enjoy teaching, but I do like having a job. Now, can we please continue with our lessons?" he asked, irritated.

One girl raised her hand, and he nodded. She poked her fingers together. "So, you are single?"

Xx

Yagari stormed to the Headmaster's office, and slammed his hands on his already battered and abused desk. "Get me out of these day classes" he demanded, and Kaien looked at him bewildered. "Why, Yagari-kun?" he asked, and Yagari, having no patients left, grabbed Kaien's collar. "They all keep asking if I'm single" he said, eye narrowed.

Kaien smiled, obviously amused. "Oh? And here I thought you were looking for a girlfriend" he said, and Yagari roughly let go of his friend and rebroke the crack in the headmaster's abused desk. "I don't want a girlfriend. You know as well as I do that my job isn't the most ideal for it" he said, and collapsed into a chair. He looked at the chairman, and Kaien knew Yagari really did have a good point. "Alright, I'll transfer you to Night Classes only. Better?" "You know I don't like Vampires, but yes" he said, and stood. Kaien pulled out papers, and began to fill them out. Yagari turned and left, leaving the premises until he was needed.

Xx

I had just entered the building to patrol inside when I saw Yagari exiting a classroom. He looked at me, black hair moving with him. "Cross" he greeted, and was about to walk away when I spoke up. "You didn't teach class today" I said, and he nodded. "I am only doing Night Classes now" I nodded, and turned around. "Have a good night, Yagari-sensei" I said, and walked off.

I was in the highest floor of the building when I heard the most beautiful music coming from down the hall. Having never heard any music before, I made my way to the other side of the hallway, and listened to the beautiful orchestra for a few minutes. Once it stopped, I continued on my way.

It wasn't until dawn when I finally made it into bed. I had just laid down when Yori, my room mate, woke up. "Hi Yuki. You can sleep in for about 15 minutes at the latest" she said, and got up. Nodding in thanks, I fell asleep rather quickly.

Xx

I ran to the main building, having overslept again. Yori had been kind enough to take my books for me, knowing I would likely oversleep. I burst into my classroom as the bells started to go off. My teacher walked in behind me and hit me on the head with his books. "Close, Cross." he said, and told everyone to take a seat.

I was almost asleep when the phone in the classroom rang. Spending little time on it, my teacher looked at me. "Cross, Kiryuu, the headmaster wants you two in his office" he said, and I snapped awake. The headmaster never wanted us during class.

I pulled on my guardian badge, and we walked out of the room. Once the door shut behind us, we took off running. 'So Zero finds this unusual too' I mused to myself, and we ran to the first floor to where the Chairman's office was. We stopped to compose ourselves, and then Zero knocked on the door. A scruffy 'come in' was heard, and we opened the doors.

Inside, we saw Kaien sitting at his desk, frazzled, Kaname, who looked tired and his arm looked kinda funny, and Yagari, who's antivampiric gun was on his back.

I knew something was wrong. "What is it, father?" I asked, and my adoptive father perked at hearing me call him father, but it dulled out as fast as it had come. "Yuki, Zero, sit down" he said, and we did, on the other remaining sofa in his office.

Yagari was the first to speak up. "There are intruders in the Academy" he said, and we looked at him sharply. Kaname leaned back against the other sofa. "My class found out last night. Yagari had been in a lecture when Rima said she heard music on the 5th floor."

I shot to attention. "Music? When?" I asked, and all eyes turned to me. Yagari's narrowed, and the headmaster looked worried. "20 minutes after you left me in the hallway" Yagari said, and my eyes widened.

That's when I had been in the 5th floor.

"I heard it too! I was up there when I heard it!" I exclaimed, and Kaname looked troubled. "Yuki, did you listen to it?" "Yes, why?" I asked, and the headmaster lowered his gaze. "Yuki, I want Kaname to examine you" he said, and I frowned. "Ok?"

Kaname rolled up his sleeve, and I saw that his arm was mutilated, purple, and about 3 times it's normal size.

I gasped, and he lowered his arm. "She's affected" he said, and Yagari aimed his gun at me. "What's your name?" he asked, and I gave him a weird look. "Yuki Cross"

Xx

I woke up to yelling, a splitting headache and earache, and a searing pain in my chest. I gasped, and my hands flew to my chest, feeling something begin to burn on my chest. Kaname's hands removed mine from my chest. "Let the mark heal, Yuki" he said, and I groaned, and looked down at my body.

I saw a vibrant and glowing red insignia on my chest, the same pattern on Zero's neck. I gasped, and my adoptive father glowered at Yagari. "Was it really necessary to shoot her like that?" he muttered, and Yagari hit him on the head. "Yes it was, and you know it" he said, and I went to get up. Zero helped me stand, and I looked at the two adults. "Why did you shoot me, Yagari-sensei?" I asked, and Kaien stood as well. "The music is a form of hypnotism. When the caster orders you to do something, you'll think you're somewhere else, when in reality, you'd be doing something completely different. It affects Purebloods differently than others. Depending on how strong the caster is, determines how badly the pureblood is affected." he said, and Kaname rolled up his sleeve.

I saw nothing wrong. "But it was just..." "That was the hypnotism, Yuki. You're alright now. Kaname is fine, too. Only those who are affected can see what was wrong with him. We've given all of our Night Class students a silver laced drug that will cure them. It's a slow working drug that will make them sick, but won't kill them. Zero, I'm going to need you to take this" the headmaster said, and he handed Zero two blood tablets and a plastic coated silver pill. Zero grimaced. "They don't work" he said, and for the first time ever, I saw my adopted father drop the two pills into a glass of water, and Kaname use his powers to pin Zero in place. Kaien poured the contents down Zero's throat, and popped the pill into his mouth, and made Zero swallow.

Kaname let Zero go, and Zero almost immediately shot up to run to the bathroom. Yagari blocked the doors, and pointed his gun at Zero. "Sit down and bear through it like a man, Zero" he said, and I knew he was stabbing Zero in the ego purposefully. I was glad that it was Yagari who said it and not anyone else, otherwise Zero would have brushed them off and said something rude to them.

Zero turned around, and sat back down, looking sick to his stomach. I put a hand on his shoulder, but he brushed me off. He put his head between his knees, and he didn't move.

I looked at my adoptive father. "What now?" "I'm going to send the Night Class home under the disguise that their dorms were not up to inspection protocol, and you two will be leaving with Yagari-kun with the intention that you two are going to a few seminars on patrolling and such. It's sketchy, I know, but it's all we have to work with." he said, and Kaname stood. "If I'm done here, I'll be leaving now" he said, and Kaien nodded, handing him the same silver pill that Zero was forced to take. "Take it with your next meal" he said, and Kaname left.

Yagari looked at his former student, and frowned. "Is this how you always feel after taking those pills?" he asked, and Zero looked up, and we all flinched. Yes, even Yagari-sensei.

Zero's eyes were pale and somewhat bloodshot, like he had been crying for a few hours. His skin was chalky white, and his hair, which he washed this morning, was greasy and flat. All in all, Zero looked absolutely terrible.

Yagari-sensei turned away, looking at me. "And how are you feeling?" "Sore" I said, seeing that the red glowing mark on my chest still hadn't disappeared yet. He turned to Kaien, and nodded. "I'll get them out of here once Zero can manage horseback riding" he said, and I looked at him funny. "horseback riding?" He nodded once. "We're taking a car out of here, for appearances only, and then once we hit a secure spot, three horses are taking us to our destination." he said, and I nodded. It was obvious that he didn't want to disclose anything, for fear of unwanted ears following us.

Zero looked at him, and grimaced at the thought of riding a horse. "I think I'm going to be sick" he said, and this time, when Zero burst forward, Yagari didn't stop him.

Xx.

It was about 3 days later when Zero felt better. We hadn't split up for patrol like we usually do, for fear of hearing that music again. I hadn't known that Zero had heard it until he told me he had been outside patrolling when his heightened senses had heard it. It took him about a day to get over the tablets, and another two days to fully shake off the effects of the silver.

By then, word had spread about the Night class leaving, and Zero and I had just told our teachers today that we were leaving for roughly 6 weeks to go to some training that the headmaster thought we needed. And surprisingly, no one questioned it.

Yagari was at the gates, waiting for us to arrive. He didn't say anything as we left the campus, and he still didn't say anything even as we got out of the car two hours later. None of us had brought anything with us, so I wasn't sure how long we were going to be riding.

The three of us had black horses, probably to blend into the night. Now that I thought about it, Zero and I still had on our uniforms. Yagari was the only one who wasn't in formal attire. He was dressed in that crazy cowboy uniform I saw him in the night he shot Zero in the shoulder.

He led the way for us as we walked off into the forest surrounding the small town we had stopped in. Entering the forest made things a bit darker because of all of the trees, but seeing in front of us wasn't too hard. And at least we were in the shade, being protected from the sun.

We made camp that night up in trees. When I asked why, I got two bored looks from my companions. "Forgive me for not living the life of a Hunter!" I said, offended. Zero lightened up, and said that animals hunt at night, and so do vampires. Since we had traveled via animal, and vampires hunt humans, we would be safer off the ground, keeping our scents higher in the air. Plus, we wouldn't be leaving very many traces of ourselves if someone happened to be stalking us.

Yagari chose to sleep a branch lower than us, and Zero had to help me adjust to sleeping in a narrow space. This meant that he was holding me while he propped himself up against the trunk. I got shuffled around as Zero retrieved his Bloody Rose and crossed his arms over my chest. I stiffened when he laid his gun on my right side. I felt my stomach growl, and I had just noticed that we hadn't eaten anything since that morning. Trying to staunch my stomach's rumbling, my hand went to Artemis, down on my thigh, and that's how I fell asleep.

I was woken up just before dawn, and I saw that Yagari was on his own horse. "Hurry up" he said, and I felt Zero move under me. "Get up. You're heavy" he said, and I growled. "You're no feather pillow either" I said, and hopped down from the tree. I swung up on my horse, and we looked at Zero, who squinted at the sunlight. I saw Yagari frown, and I, myself, felt sad. Zero's body was weaker from taking the blood tablets and the silver pill, and I knew- I don't know how, but I did- that Zero had taken another step towards being a Level E vampire. And I think Yagari knew that too.

I was scared, knowing that if Zero really did fall to being a Level E, it would be either mine or Yagari's responsibility to stop him. I knew that even though I promised Zero to stop him, I wouldn't be able to go through with it. I loved Zero too much to kill him, even if it's what he wished for. It would have to be Yagari to kill Zero.

My gloomy mood seemed to catch their attention, and while Zero knew why I was upset, Yagari looked suspicious at us.

We rode for a long while before I couldn't take it anymore. "I'm hungry" I said, and the two males, who had been in front of me, looked back at me. Yagari sighed. "Kaien spoiled you" he said, and I took offence to that. "Excuse me, once again, as I state that I am not a hunter!" I yelled, and Zero glared at me. "That doesn't mean you can't go another few hours without food" he said, and I gaped at him.

I stopped my horse, and slid off of him. "Goodbye" I said, and began to walk back the way we had come. I heard hoofs thunder towards me, and I saw Yagari pull his horse to a sliding halt right in front of me. With the sun behind him and his ridiculous outfit, he really looked like a cowboy, one that was glaring dangerously down at me. "You will get back on that horse right now" he said, and I glared right back at him. "Or you'll do what? Shoot me?" I taunted, and he didn't think twice as he slung his gun around to aim at my head and shoot me.

This time, I didn't black out, but I did fall over, frozen. I couldn't breath as the powerful effects of a silver bullet formed the seal that's on Zero's neck formed on my forehead. I was struggling to breath in after 2 minutes, and I heard someone curse. I saw Zero drop down besides me, cursing off Yagari, and he covered my mouth with his, and he breathed in for me, filling my lungs with oxygen.

He had to do that for about 2 minutes, until I choked on my own, and started to cough violently. Zero backed away from me, and he began to yell at Yagari again. I didn't make out what they were saying, because I was too focused on breathing.

Once I was breathing again- not normally, but I was ok for the moment, I stood up, and hung off of Zero. "Fuck you, Yagari" I said, and both men looked down at me, absolutely stunned.

The first time I curse, and I throw out one of the strongest there is.

Yagari sneered at me, and he moved his horse to the front of our group. "get back on and shut the hell up" he said, and began to ride away.

Zero helped me on my horse, seeing as how I couldn't move so well on my own. He got on his horse, and we had to move our horses into a short trot to catch up to Yagari.

I didn't dare open my mouth again after that, and no one said a thing until a town came into view around dusk. No one in that town looked at us weird as we rode through town on the horses, they just walked right around us as if we didn't even exist.

Yagari turned down a quieter road, and then from there, down an even quieter road. He got off of his horse, and he led it down the tiny road. Zero and I followed his example, and we strayed down many little roads until the sounds of the bustling of the town quieted down to mere echoes.

He stopped at a door, and he pulled a pair of keys out of his back pocket and stuck one of the many keys into the doorknob, and turned. It opened, and he walked in, still leading the horse. It didn't like the small doorway, but it eventually went into the house.

Zero and I stared at him like he was crazy. Who brings a 1200 lbs horse into a house?!

Hesitantly, Zero led his own horse into the building, and then I did after his horse didn't have his backside to me. Unfortunately, I got the stubborn horse, and he put up a ridiculous fight on getting into the house.

The horse fought with me until I finally gave up, and then it walked in, all on it's own. I glowered at the beast, and led it down the hall where I saw my two companions go. I saw them waiting for me at another door, Yagari holding the two other horses, and Zero waiting to help me. I growled at them, and this time, the horse went easily.

Yagari led us through what seemed like a courtyard, and then he opened another door. We saw that it led to some stables, where we untacked our horses and let them rest for a while. Yagari led us back into the house, and then he locked the doors.

Zero spoke up. "Where are we?" "In a safe place for now. Don't get too comfy, we may need to move again" Yagari said, and went into the little kitchen area. He soon reappeared, folding his wallet back up and slipping it into his pocket. "get showers and get back here. We're going into town." he said, and walked down a small hallway, and shut a door rather firmly.

Zero and I looked at the direction he came from, and we headed towards the other door in that hallway. We opened it, and saw another bedroom. It had a simple double bed, a large dresser, a desk, and another door that led into a small bathroom.

Zero laid down on the bed, and pointed to the bathroom. "You had better save me hot water" he said, and he closed his eyes. I gave him a displeased look. "Only if you're lucky" I muttered, and slammed the door.

I found two towels and washcloths, and I grabbed one of them. I quickly stripped, and hopped into the shower, turning the knob to hot. The water pressure wasn't great, but it didn't suck either. I quickly washed my hair with the basic shampoo and conditioner, and then took a quick look at my body.

Great, I needed to shave.

I looked around for a razor, but I didn't find one. Sighing, I finished my shower, enjoying the ridiculously hot water. Just to get back at Zero for being so rude to me, I let it run at full heat as I got out of the shower, and dried off.

And then I realized that Yagari had to use this water too.

I quickly shut the shower off, and exited the bathroom. I saw Zero get up, and he walked right into the bathroom, and slammed the door shut. I quickly threw on my clothes, and grimaced. I really wish I had clean clothes.

There was a knock on the door, and I saw Yagari barge right in. He had no expression whatsoever on his face as he held out a bunch of clothes. "Change" he said, and slammed the door shut as he left.

Jeez, we're all in a bad mood it seems.

I saw that they must have been Yagari's clothes, for they all were too big to fit either Zero or I. Thankfully, Yagari had lent us belts, because I knew that his pants were going to fall right off of us.

I changed, and felt a bit better. I had on a pair of tan pants and a black t-shirt. Looking at my reflection in the window, I had to admit, that even though I was in Yagari's clothes, I looked kind of cute.

I placed Zero's clothes in the bathroom, and left the room. I headed back to the tiny kitchen, and I saw Yagari smoking, leaning against the counter. I stood in the doorway awkwardly, and he turned his head a bit to look at me. "What?" "Um, do you have a razor I could use?"

He took his cigarette away from his mouth, and exhaled. He looked back in front of him. "We will get some in town" he said, and continued to smoke.

I sighed, and leaned against the wall. Zero breezed past me, and he simply stared at his former mentor. Yagari slid his eye to look at his former pupil, and straightened, pushing away from the counter. "We will be back in 2 hours. If we're not, then and only then may you leave this house. You will find protection in my room, under the pillow" he said, and the two males exited the house just as abruptly as his announcement.

I blinked, and then seethed. They left me here! How dare they?!

But then again, they were the hunters. If anything happened in town, they would be fine.

Me, on the other hand, would be completely defenseless.

I rethought about what Yagari said, and I headed to his bedroom. Opening the door, I saw that his room was just as simple looking as ours was. To be honest, they looked identical.

I headed for his bed, and I slid my hand under his pillows. I almost thought there wasn't anything there until I felt something cold and metallic hit my fingers.

Not daring to just grasp the object, I lifted his pillows, and found myself looking at a small handgun. It was only a .22 caliber, but Yagari probably had silver bullets in the magazine. I picked the gun up, and flipped on the safety. No use shooting myself accidentally.

I was sitting on a small sofa adjacent to the kitchen, when I heard the door jiggle. I froze, and reached for my gun. I clicked off the safety, and held it out in front of me.

I heard the door pop open, and a single set of footsteps walked uneasily down the hall. I gripped the gun, and I saw a Level E round the corner.

The vampire looked at me, and he smiled. "A meal? A meal for me!" he said, and rushed at me.

I began to fire my gun when I realized that there were regular bullets in it.

Praying for a miracle, I shot the gun three more times, and then I saw a purple mark explode in the air, and the vampire disintegrated into dust.

Shaking and scared, I looked at the gun, then back at the mess on the floor. I ran to the door, relocked it, and then shot to Yagari's room. I locked his door too, and then locked his window. I drew the curtains, and began to tear apart his room. I found that he had a silver laced sword in his closet, another rifle under the bed, and a small silver bladed pocket knife in his bathroom. Once I gathered his weapons, I barricaded the door, and curled up in the darkest corner I could, weapons in easy reach if I needed them.

I stayed curled up like that for what felt like forever before I heard the front door open again. Fearing it was another vampire, I readied the little handgun, and waited for the vampire to come.

Partially delirious, I heard gasps, and then there was frantic running around outside of the room. I realized I was hyperventilating, and then the door tried to open. I didn't register the voices at first, but I screamed when the door got ripped off it's hinges and fired blindly at whoever was in the door.

Suddenly realizing that I was out of ammo, I panicked, and reached for the shotgun. I had just aimed it when I realized that Yagari and Zero stood in the doorframe, both pale from being shot at. I noticed that Zero was gripping his side and his thigh, and I realized that I had shot him. Yagari looked at his room, and then at me.

I had just threw the gun down when I launched myself at him, hugging and embracing him like he was the last thing on earth. I started to cry, and my legs gave out on me. I dragged Yagari down with me as I collapsed, and I heard him grunt as our knees hit the wooden floor harshly.

I buried my face in his chest. "I was so scared!" I sobbed, and I heard him give a sigh, and I was brought into the air by two strong arms. "Zero, get a bath going for her" he said, and the teen left, following his orders.

I was vaguely aware that I was being carried somewhere, and I was dropped carefully onto the sofa in the small livingroom. I saw through my tears that there were some bags dropped on the floor, and I saw Yagari pick them up. He picked out a small pack, and he handed it to me. "If you're sane enough, here" he said, and I saw that they had indeed gotten me razors.

I gave a hysterical laugh. "thank you" I said, and stood up. I wobbled, and I saw his arm dart out to hold onto my shoulder. He steadied me, and led me to my shared room where I saw Zero sitting on the bed. "It's ready" he said, and I was pushed into the bathroom, the door shutting firmly behind me.

Xx

Half an hour later, I emerged from the bathroom, relaxed and feeling a bit better. I had taken advantage of the razors that they had picked up for me, and felt a lot better now. I had stayed in the overly large shirt and my underwear, but had the pants and my bra folded up in my arms. I saw Zero laying on the bed, seemingly asleep. I quietly crept around the bed, heading to the door. I had just opened it when I heard a sigh. "Shut the door and lay down, stupid" I heard Zero say, and I flinched. He was still angry.

I reluctantly shut the door, and made my way to the bed, where I saw Zero on one side. He threw the covers back on the unoccupied side, and I sat down, falling into the soft mattress. I laid down, and didn't move until I heard Zero's breathing even out.

I stood, and left the room, heading to the sofa in the livingroom. I grabbed a blanket from the back of the sofa, and I curled up on the furniture.

I felt as if I had just fallen asleep when I woke up to a bright light being turned on. I groaned, and sat up, looking at the kitchen area. I saw Yagari in the doorway, hand on the lightswitch, and his other hand brushing back his black hair from his eyepatch.

He looked at me, and gave a tired sigh. "For Christ's sake, get in the damn bed" he said sharply, and I laid back down. "No. Contrary to popular belief, I don't trust Zero while I'm asleep" I said, and he stared at me with his one blue eye. A brief smile crossed his stern face, and he nodded. "Good girl"

He went to the sink, grabbed a glass, and filled it with water. Taking large swigs from it, Icouldn't help but stare slightly at the sight of him swallowing. Something about such a normal task made the hunter seem less... intimidating.

He looked at me, and I blushed, caught. He set his glass down, and walked over to me. He crouched down to my level, and stared at me with an unemotional expression. "Are you better now?" he asked, and I nodded. "I'm sorry for shooting you guys" I said, and he shook his head, his raven locks moving softly with him. "judging by the mess out here, you must have panicked. You were just lucky that the remainder of the bullets in that gun were silver. Only the top 4 were regular. It's for appearances only." he said, and stood up. "Get some sleep. We're training you tomorrow" he said, and turned around. He shut off the kitchen light, and I was plunged into darkness again.

Xx

So, here's the end of chapter 1. Tell me what you think, and I'll hopefully get the second chapter up soon!

-gdd-


	2. Chapter 2

I'm back, brandishing chapter two as I arrive. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and for your patience, here's chapter 2!

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight.

Xx

I woke up to the sun shining in through a slightly dusty window. I sat up, and saw that there were clothes for me laying at my feet, and when I unfolded them, I found a pair of thigh hugging boot flare jeans, a black cami, and a black button up dress shirt. When I unfolded the jeans, I found a pair of clean underwear and- a roll of bandages?

I gathered my clothes, and I slipped back into the room I was supposed to be sharing with Zero. I found him still asleep, and so I took the oportunity to use the privacy of the bathroom. Not bothering with another shower, cuz I bathed twice yesterday, I slipped on my new clothes. It was a bit disturbing how the jeans were only a size too big at the waist- perfect fit on the thighs, a bit long on the bottom, and how the cami fit just fine. I didn't think Zero knew what size I was. Then again, I'm not that big, so it probably wasn't that hard.

I had emerged from the bathroom, and found Zero glaring at me from the bed. "You left" he said, and sat up. I nodded. "I don't trust you while I sleep. You're a guy" I said, and headed for the door.

As I passed Zero, he patted me on the head. "Baka" he said, and went into the bathroom.

I left the room, and I saw Yagari just leaving his own bedroom. He looked down at me, and then at the roll of bandages in my hands. "you will not like training with a bra on" he said, grabbed my wrist, and shoved me into his room.

I stared at Yagari in a bit of fear. He looked at me expectantly. "take it off" he said, and I huffed. I turned around, and pulled off both of my tops. I felt him unclip my bra, and I let it fall to the ground. He started to unroll the bandages, and I saw his arm go back around me, holding in place the end of the strip, and he began to wind the roll around my chest.

When he got to certain parts of me, he held the bandages, and handed me the roll. "You do it" he said, and I started to wrap my chest tightly in the bandages.

When I got up to my armpits, He told me to hold the roll, and he began to tighten the bandages. Once he finished, he grabbed the small pocket knife I found the previous day, and cut the strip. He tied it in a simple knot, and then I put my shirts back on.

Blushing, I turned around. "ano... um, thanks..." I said, and ran from his room.

I bumped into Zero, who was just leaving our room, and his eyes widened, and then narrowed, noticing the difference on me. Yagari, who was leaning in his doorframe, must have smirked, because I was thrown to the side, and Zero was on Yagari in seconds. Yagari, being more experienced, simply threw Zero to the side, and shut the door as Zero charged him again. The door vibrated from Zero running into it, and then there was a loud thud.

Yagari headed to the kitchen, and I followed him. Once Zero calmed down, he joined us, and I got the most vile, dirty look I had ever seen cross his face thrown at me.

Grabbing our weapons, Yagari opened the front door, and we left the house for the forest, where he began to drill me with the basics of surviving as a hunter. I wouldn't be one, by any means, but because of what happened on our journey here, I needed to know how to take care of myself.

They had me climbing trees with one arm, while the other haulled up Yagari's shotgun. Strength hadn't been one of my strong points, and so I was yelled at constantly by Zero and Yagari to get up the tree. When I had finally managed to get up to the first branch, Zero told me to keep going until the branches were too weak to hold me. That took me about 2 hours to climb the tree one way, and then they expected me to jump down from about 20 feet up. I thought I had broken my ankles when I had landed.

When the sun had finally gone down, I was nothing but a human sized pain mass. every inch of me hurt; my wrists from climbing trees, my arms from hauling up 120 lbs on each arm, my feet from landing once I got as high as I could go, my legs from sprinting about 7 miles at a time, and my stomach from doing 300 crunches and sit ups at one time. I had collapsed the moment Yagari said we were done for the day. I saw two pairs of shoes in my sight, and I numbly lifted my arms. They didn't go very far off of the ground.

I was propped up, and I was pulled to my feet. I saw that Zero had crouched down, and I collapsed on his back. He hooked his arms under my legs, and he stood. the two males made their way back into town, and Yagari said he'd take me back to the house if Zero would get something to eat. I was moved from Zero's back to Yagari's arms, and then we were moving down the quieter backroads of the town.

Yagari managed to get the door unlocked while still holding me, and I was placed on the sofa and covered with a blanket. He shuffled through one of the unpacked bags from yesterday, and pulled out a bottle of pain medication. He got me a glass of water, and he handed me it and 3 pills.

After I had downed the pills and half the glass of water, I realized that it was the same glass Yagari had used last night.

I coughed and sputtered, and I shot Yagari a look. He merely shrugged, and took the glass.

Zero returned soon after that, holding three bags of ingredients. "Fish" he said, and got to work in the kitchen.

Yagari sat on the floor, leaning against the sofa I was on, and he turned on a tiny tv that sat in the corner. he flipped through the channels before settling on some documentary on SciFi (I don't own it). I felt the pain slowly leave my body, leaving in it's place a heaviness that overcame my body.

Zero woke me up for dinner, and I managed to get about half a plate down before I gave up. I saw looks pass between the two hunters, and I sighed, annoyed.

"Look, thank you for trying to train me, but we all know this is pointless. Just give up. I'll go back to the headmaster. No one will have to know I'm back" I said, standing.

Zero stood, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips forming a frown. "Yuki-" "Girl, Kaien trusted you two with me. Its not your fault that you weren't trained to be a hunter from such a young age like Zero. The training we put you through today is what we know you can handle. And knowing those basics is better than nothing" Yagari said, standing up. He looked at me with a hard eye, and I looked away, ashamed. I knew he was right, but...

"I just don't like feeling useless"

Both of my companions looked at me, and Zero sighed, before hitting me on the head again. "Baka." he said again, and I glowered at him. "stop that!" I yelled, and slapped his hand away before it could continue to hit my head.

Yagari didn't let his gaze leave me. "If you were truely useless, Kaien wouldn't have sent you here with me. Kaien knows you can handle yourself" he said, and picked up his plate. "dinner was good" he said to Zero, and dropped his plate in the sink. When he went into his room, he didn't reemerge.

Zero and I cleaned up the dishes from dinner, and then Zero plopped down on the sofa, watching a bit of tv. I stood in the kitchen, debating over something. Something seemed a bit off...

I gasped. "Zero! when's the last time you've fed?!"

Zero stiffened, and he looked back at me. "Yagari has taken care of it. Don't worry" I gulped. "You fed off of him?" "No. Yagari would shoot me before I could even try to bite him." he said, and pulled down the collar of his shirt.

Upon his chest was the same purple seal that adorned his neck, just larger. "He sealed me while you were climbing trees" he said, and fixed his collar. "Hopefully, I'll be able to take those god awful pills" he said, and returned his focus to the tv.

I headed to the room that Zero and I shared, and proceeded to the bathroom, where I filled the tub. I sunk my aching body in the hot water. I didn't bother to move for the longest time, just letting the hot water seep into my muscles. It was only when I heard a pounding on the door did I realize I'd fallen asleep. "What?!" I yelled, and the door burst open. I saw Zero nursing a bleeding fist, and he looked at me. "You've been in there for hours!" he yelled, and he dragged me out of the tub.

I screamed, and began to hit him. "Pervert! Get out!" I yelled, and I forced him out of the room.

I dressed for bed in the large shirt Yagari had given me the first day, and I shot into the bed before Zero could see me. I heard him shift, and then two arms snaked around me. "Zero!" "shhh" he said, and pulled her back to him.

Struggling, I tried desperatly to get away from the half asleep Zero. "Zero! Stop!" I said, as he began to pet my arm. His lavender eyes were hazy with sleep, and I belatedly realized that he was sleep molesting me.

Not having enough to get out on my own, I opened my mouth, and let out a scream which was silenced just as it came out. Zero's hand easily covered my mouth, and I bit down on it as hard as I could.

Something answered my plea for help, because the next thing I knew, Yagari was poking his head into the room. I threw him a desperate look, and he quickly came in, and grabbed Zero by the neck, dragged him out of bed, and threw him across the room.

"ch, this is the side effect of that damn seal" he said, and I looked at the now awake Zero who was staring at Yagari in confusion. "Why the hell did you do that?" he hissed, and Yagari's visible eye narrowed. "I think it would be best if you slept with me" he said, and Zero's face contorted into that of disgust. "Hell no" "Then Yuki will sleep with me"

Zero didn't like that idea any better than the last one. Finally giving up, he stood, and collapsed back on the bed. "Go" he said to me, and he rolled onto his stomach.

I got up, and Yagari opened the door for me. I was hesitant to go into his room, and I had just turned to go down the hall to the sofa when a hand grabbed the back of my borrowed shirt, and I was dragged into the bedroom.

Yagari laid down on the right side of the bed, and i timidly crawled into the left side of the bed. He laid on his side, facing away from me. He didn't say anything, and I didn't bother to try and start a converstion. Not only was this Yagari, Mister I-don't-care-if-you're-insulted-with-my-choice-in-words, but it was also late at night.

I rolled onto my side, my back facing his, and I curled up into a ball. I tried to relax myself, telling myself that there wasn't anyone else in the bed with me, that Yagari would be the last person to ever try something with me. But I couldn't get around falling into a fitful slumber.

Xx

I was awakened all to soon by Yagari shaking my shoulder. "Get up already" he said, irritated. I sat up, but was tugged back down to the bed. "I said get up, not sit up" he whispered harshly, and I went to reply when his hand shot over my mouth. I was pulled to him, much like Zero did earlier, and I saw the door open. All I could see were two glowing red eyes, and ragged breathing filled the room. I felt Yagari's hand slide underneath my pillow, and he lifted his hand slightly. The hand over my mouth tightened, and knew why when an ear numbing crack rang out from right under my ear.

Yagari cursed as he missed the vampire, and he shot out of the bed as the vampire that broke into his house raced towards the bed. I finally let out my scream, and I also raced away from the bed, just barely missing the clawed hand that tried to grab me. I tripped over something, and saw that the weapons I had barricaded myself with the other day had been stacked by the side of the bed. I grabbed the sword, and weilding it like Artemis, I loped off the vampires head. It turned into dust all over the bed.

Yagari had been shooting the vampire when I had so gracelessly decapitated the intruder. I shook, and collapsed on the ground. Zero burst into the room, his own gun aimed around the room. He saw the ashes on the bed, and me curled up on the ground. Both of the males came towards me, and helped me up. Yagari took his weapon away from me, and Zero led me to his room. I was pushed gently onto the bed, and then tucked in securely. I saw Yagari come into the room, brandishing his shotgun and the little .22 caliber he had used earlier. Just thinking of it reminded me of the aching in my ears. I pressed my hands to my ears, trying to alleviate the pounding in my head.

Someone slid into the bed next to me, and a strong arm was curled around my torso, and a warm body was brought to mine. Yagari may have gone back to bed, but I certainly didn't. The sun had started it's rise in the sky when Yagair woke up. He hadn't moved once through the hours he had been asleep, and part of me wandered if it was a natural thing, or a trained reflex.

He let me go, and sat up. I looked over my shoulder, wincing as my stiff muscles protested the motions. He was rubbing his eye, and then the hand slid into his toussled black locks. He turned to look down at me, and I looked back to the wall. He got up, and he made his way to the door. "get up. We're going to have to leave by noon" he said, and went back into his own room.

I got up a bit after that, and made my way to his room, where I saw him staring at the bed. He looked at me, and motioned to the mess. "just gather it in the sheets" he said, and I began to help him fold up the sheets into themselves to make a large pouch for the ashes. We threw all of the sheets and pillow cases in with them, and he hauled it out into the hallway. I saw Zero bringing in new sheets, and I began to help him make the bed.

Yagari returned fully dressed, and he told us to get dressed. We changed as quickly as possible, and then we were leaving the house through the back door, and going towards the stables.

I saw that all three of our horses were fully tacked up, and we swung up and took off. Yagari led us through the absolute back roads, and we hit the forest once again. We didn't waste any time, and we quickly moved into a canter through the forest. It was only when night fell that we stopped. The horses had long since tired from their canter, and so we had walked a fair amount of distance.

Yagari tied our horses up while Zero and I got into a tree. I was handed the little .22, and that's when Yagari spoke up.

"He was from Cross Acadamy" he said, and he handed us a piece of paper. Zero recognized it, but to me, all it looked like was a list of names.

Yagari elaborated. "It's a hunter's hit list. We get updates whenever new vampires are spotted and need controling" he said, and I then noticed that there were 3 names from the Acadamy. Two of them were underclassmen, and the other one was an upperclassman.

I handed the paper back to Yagari, who folded it and stuck it back in his coat pocket. I leaned heavily on Zero, suddenly overwhelmed. I saw Yagari stop getting into the tree, and he came over to us, and held out a hand. "Get down" he said, and I frowned. "Why?"

Zero's breathing went ragged, and I knew he needed blood. "Yagari-" "No. I absolutely forbid it" he said, and pulled me out of the tree.

Zero followed me, and I was whipped behind Yagari as a ferral Zero tried to bite at me. My eyes widened in horror, at the sight in front of me.

The seals that were on Zero weren't purple anymore. They were completely black. I suddenly realized just how much those two seals held Zero in check. And now that they were black, he had finally reverted to a Level E vampire.

I grabbed at Yagari's arm. "What happend to the seals?!" I yelled, and he kept Zero at bay. "Those seals were never permanent. It doesn't surprise me that Kaien forgot to tell you that" he said, and hit Zero hard with the barrel of his shotgun.

I hid behind a horse. "What do you mean?" "Those seals were supposed to delay his decend. That silver he had to take weakend the seals, I think. And since I added the second seal, I ran the risk of undoing the first one" he said, got serious. "There's nothing I can do for him now. Look away" he said, and I hid my face in the horses neck.

A gunshot louder than last night rang out, and I didn't want to look up and see what was left of Zero. I heard Yagari moving around, and clothes being shuffled, and then I felt arms leading me away from the horse. I kept my eyes closed, and it was only when we stopped that I finally opened them. I saw Yagari climbing up into a tree, and he had a hand extended to help me up once he got situated. I was placed against a firm chest, and he had one arm resting lazily on my stomach. "sleep" he said, and that's what I did.

Xx

I had to get rid of Zero. I'm a big fan of Zero, but to keep me on track with Yagari and Yuki, I had to get rid of the distraction. So sorry to those who liked Zero! Just know I don't normally off a character.

Review so I can get ideas for chapter 3!

-gdd-


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